03/10/2023
Stochastic Terrorism
He called for them, and they responded. He only had to use thinly veiled code words and dog whistles and they understood his wishes. He did not have to be implicit, and thus, he was in no way culpable. He could send them to do his bidding, and when it was done, could deny having anything to do with his wishes being carried out by the one, or the many, of his flock.
They only did what he told them to, and when they got arrested, they pointed at him, and his rhetoric and phrases, as their motivations.
Yet, he cannot be held accountable for their actions.
We all saw him, on Dec 18, invite his flock to the nation’s capitol. A violent, armed mob beckoned on social media. “Will be wild” was the not so secret code word.
We all saw his speech from the Elipse, where he invoked the word “Fight” 16 times.
We all witnessed and felt acutely, the deafening silence of the President of the United States, as the institutions of democracy were physically attacked, at his behest. His derelictions of duty were on full display, proving for all but the most ardent of his cultish followers, he is not fit to hold office. He never was. He proved it on national television, in real time, and we all watched it.
The Legislative branch of the US Government was attacked, and the leader of the Executive branch, sat in the dining room, off the Oval Office, in safety, and watched. He did not act. He watched. Did he watch a TV shows worth?? 30 minutes?? Nope
Did he watch a Movies worth?? Nope. He watched both a TV show and a movie, then, Tweeted a video, telling the mob he didn’t “summon or control” to go home. His addition of “We Love You” a personal statement of implied support for their actions, and a wink and a nod. Aiding and comforting the insurrectionists he beckoned to attack the American Government
And now we come to the culpability of his followers and supporters.
My grandfather fought in WWII on the U. S. S. Vinson in the Pacific. The evil he fought against, is the same evil I see in the hearts and minds of my fellow Americans, that subscribe to Trump’s ideas. My own family is full of people that want to see this man as the leader of our nation.
His charity, business, marital fidelity, claims about stolen elections, ethics and morals are all fraudulent. He is as stupid as he is evil, and he is exorbitantly stupid. Whatever his monetary personal fortune is estimated at (and that estimate may also be fraudulent) his stupidity, narcissism and cruelty are an exponential magnitude beyond that. I am having a very difficult time finding any forgiveness for the abandonment of decency that loyalists to Trump have tacitly and explicitly engaged
He panders to a frightened and ever shrinking minority, whose sole intent is forcing their religious based morality and values on the great, silent majority.
Thanks to him, a woman does not have the right to make personal choices about her medical care, that her grandmother had, 50 years ago.
Thanks to him, millions of Americans will not admit Trump lost, but that the election was stolen. I would postulate that belief in something, without a shred of proof, and in the face of evidence to the contrary, constitutes a religious belief, and therefore, any new laws passed claiming they are trying to “protect” he election need to be struck down, as based on a religious belief. The religion is Trump. His lies are truth. Any proof to the contrary must be dismissed. Any factual evidence must be dismissed, and any statements from the leader must be believed.
I always wondered how Centrist Germans of the 1930s could have allowed Hitlers rise. They didn’t have to assist, they just had to be silent. I will not be silent
The greatest threat to American democracy in my lifetime has been the Republican Party, combined with the Evangelical Christians.
We watched as they tried to use the mechanism of the electoral college, to usurp the will of the electorate, and install their guy, even though he lost the election.
In a two party system, if one party is willing to abandon the democratic process, refuses to accept free and fair election results, and uses legal maneuvers, and dubious mechanics to usurp the will of the electorate, then the entire system is irrevocably broken.
